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MG MGB Technical - No seam on the rear wings?

On an MGB I recently aquired I noticed a very odd difference in it other MGB's hadn't, on the top of the rear wings there isnt any seam and the body work is flawless over that area. I suppose that this is just body filler that was placed at one point to improve the car, or is there another possibility? If you have any other idea please let me know. -Cheers
S.D.G. Stephan

It's very possible to weld the seam together and sand it smooth with a long block sander and a TON of patience. More patience then I would put into it anyway.... Use a magnet, or lightly tap on it to see if there is a different pitch to the metal in that area. The bondo will dampen the noise.

Justin
Justin

They might have lead loaded the seams, that was an old touch that became unafforable in the british car industry. It might have been by or for a very finicky owner.
Carl W French

It is also a bodge to cover rot cheaply, do a magnet test as Justin says and feel up underneath from inside the boot/trunk. Check also the front wings, there should be a filler strip there too.
Paul Hunt

Early MGB's had these seams filled, with lead by the factory, and later ones did not.
"Original MGB" quotes the year of the change which I do not remember at the moment.
When later cars have the seams filled it is usually the result of a mis-guided effort at the time of a respray or, as Paul says, a bodge to cover rot.
There are two sets of seams involved. One is the set that you refer to, on top and in front of the boot lid. The second, vertical, set are adjacent to the rear lights. These often get filled with bondo following collision damage.

Angus
AJ Munro

The londitudinal seams on the wings, which is what I understand SDG to be talking about, were never lead-loaded, it was the vertical seams on the rear panel above the bumper and those between the top of the GT wings and roof that were originally.
Paul Hunt

I have to hold up my hands and plead guilty here. I had my rear seams removed because I couldn't stop the rust from bubbling up. The rest of the wing (fender) was fine so the seam fillers were ground out, weld was applied with a little filler (bondo) to make a smooth job. That was a minimum of 6 years ago and it's still fine - I think it looks OK, but if and when I have to do a major restoration, I'll probably put the seam back.

Mike
Mike Howlett

Now this is interesting and has saved me from making a mistake with the restoration of my 66'B roadster.

Original MGB, p22, last paragraph, lead me to believe that (all) the body seams were lead loaded. The beautiful 1964 Tartan Red roadster in that book also appears to have the seams filled.
I have looked at a photograph of the MGB that I bought new in 1966 and, even zooming in, I cannot see the seams behind the cockpit. To be fair, it was a white car and the picture was taken on a bright day.

However, I must be sure that I get my car right.

Paul, I very much appreciate your informed input here. Would you mind reconfirming, lead to the rear vertical seams but not to the rear of cockpit ones.

Best regards,

Angus.
AJ Munro

AJ,

FWIW, on my '69, the seams both above the bumper and between the cockpit and the decklid are leaded. The paint on this car appears to be original, so I don't think the seams were filled in some later repair.

HTH!
Rob
Rob Edwards

AJ,

Those seams are there in the photos of that red roadster, both at page 9 [RHS] and the cover [LHS], though they are less evident in the cover shot.

My 69 roadster (resprayed in 1985 - I have the receipt among the papers going back to 1972) has the longitudinal seams Paul is talking about, though the two vertical seams on the valance to the bottom lip of the boot are filled - a common occurance here when respraying

Rob, if your decklid is my bootlid, I'm not aware of any seams existing in the original cars between the upper boot lid and the cockpit. Someone may correct me on that though.

Regards
Roger
Roger

Yup, decklid == bootlid. Not sure how to describe the seams that I'm looking at (and as I understand, everyone is talking about).

Between the the filler bead at the ridgeline of the quarter panel and the bootlid is a small panel that runs from the cockpit straight back and down to the bumper. Let's call it the "outside boot apperature panel". It forms the longitudinal edges of the boot apperature and just starts to wrap around the front (forward) transverse edge of the boot apperature and ends just past the corner of the apperature. There is another panel that joins it and forms the forward transverse edge of the boot apperature and the rear transverse edge of the cockpit. The seam between these panels is longitudinal. At the outside boot apperature panel's rearward/lower end, it joins up with the rear body panel (or valance). The rear body panel forms the rearward transverse edge of the boot apperature.

On my car, both the upper logitudinal seams near the forward corners of the bootlid and the lower seams with the rear body panel are leaded. The car has not been resprayed, and I know there's lead there because the paint is thin enough and washed away enough that I can see the lead.

There are two smaller vertical seams aligned with and below the taillights. These not filled on my car.

HTH!
Rob Edwards

Rob, Your car reflects what I had expected with both the seams, close to the tear drop soft top brackets, and the vertical ones each side if the licence plate, being leaded.

Have I got that right?

Roger, I am sitting here looking at page 9 and, for the life of me, I cannot see the seams. I can see the 'tear drop' bracket and the studs, but no longitudinal seam.
Page 57 shows a yellow car and page 55 a white one. Still no seams.
Page 22, last paragraph, indicates that "....from around March 1976, when it was decided to stop lead loading the body seams."
On p.58 is a picture of a '76 red car with the seams, that we are talking about, unleaded for that year and later.

I am sorry if I seem to be a bit of an Anorak about this but my dilemma is that I want to get my car right and I need to be, and am willing to be, convinced that the seams (on p.58) were leaded on early cars... or not, as the case may be.

Best regards,

AJ
AJ Munro

AJ, I think we're on the same page. :-)
Rob Edwards

AJ

I'm almost dead sure that ALL MGBs from day one had the raised longitudinal seam along the top of the rear wing (fender), just like it's little brother the Sprite/midget. My 1971 certainly had them. When I get home tonight I will look in my old road tests book at the 1963 test car. One of the photos should show me enough detail.

Mike
Mike Howlett

Mike,

I 'think' you are talking about a different seam. There is one that is very visible, and lookes like a trapped plastic strip, between the wing and the body.
The seams under discussion here are close to the soft top /tear drop brackets.

Forgive me if I missunderstood you though..

AJ
AJ Munro

Oooops,

I have just re-read the initial thread that was indeed refering to the seams along the top of the wings. Sorry for any confusion that I may have caused here.

I am now pretty convinced that the seams that I thought we were talking about, the ones near the tear drop brackets, were leaded until 1976.

AJ.
AJ Munro

Quite right Angus. We have been at cross-purposes. I think you are right about the other seams being lead filled until around 1976. My 1971 car has no visible seams either above or below the boot lid.

Mike
Mike Howlett

Back in the 'fifties and 'sixties, it was still basic automotive construction practice to lead -fill all seams after welding- I have heard possibly 30 pounds in a Holden sedan. at another point in time, or two points in time, two things happened: cost of leading became unacceptable, and lead hazardous no-no in industry. Thus Bondo type fillers replaced lead. Maybe when BMC stopped leading the other body seams( there must be others, other than the ones on the rear and the ones on the top of the wings with the filler pieces) and started using Bondo is what the book to which you are referring is discussing? My 2C worth.
Ken R.
Ken Rich

Hi,

I have a 73 MGB. I stripped the car completely down to the bare metal using stripper 12 years ago. I remember using a wire (brass) wheel along these seams to clean them out thoroughly. I had a couple of spots that were starting to discolor (just prior to rusting) because the paint had been chipped and not repaired. There was no lead filler there at all. After cleaning and etching, I filled both seams one on each side from the door opening to the top of the taillight. I like the look (smooth) and moisture can not get in that spot and start the rusting process. This past summer I repainted the car and the seams were in perfect codition. No bubbling etc. The car sits outside year around. Gets all the attention needed. No trailer queen, used almost daily.

Alan
Alan


Hi folks!
I am re-building an mgb roadster 1972. Has anyone got any pictures or diagrams of the break pipes layout, fuel line layout and loom layout as I have not yet got an MGB donor to copy. I have only a body shell at the moment. I require the underside layouts please.
Many thanks to you.

Martin
martin baldock

This thread was discussed between 24/02/2003 and 02/03/2003

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